Become a Self Developer

I'd like you to take some time and consider your views on life. Their views on personal development. Especially your views on education. Many of us go to school for years and during the whole of our childhood we study and we read to learn enough information to go move up to big school. Then we read and learn to pass our exams which will enable us to progress onto further education or to get a job.

Some people go to college and they will willingly study, read to learn about their chosen career, or increase their qualifications to get into university where they read and study to learn a specific career to become a doctor or whatever they have chosen to do for the rest of their lives. And at no point did they ever question the education process or the need to read and learn from those who know. How many books did you read at school? I can`t remember either but it was over 100.

However I have so many conversations with people working their J.O.B (Just Over Broke) who come and ask me questions such as "Your into personal development and your ambitious. I hate my job , I'm always broke. What shall I do?" I will coach them as a friend and I will be honest with them and tell them if they want financial success they need to read books written by successful people and work on their attitude to life. Then I will lend them a book. A book from authors like Og Mandino, Harv eker or Napoleon Hill. A book written by a multi millionaire that will teach you if applied, to become financially free. To develop the traits of the rich and the successful!

Do they read it? Not at all. I will get the book back unread and they will tell me "Its not my cup of tea". I will try to tell them that surely working for a boss you don`t like or being broke is not your 'cup of tea'. Surely reading one book a month is worth the price to you? One month down the road I will have the same person tell me that they are broke or sick of their job . I again tell them "You need to read the autobiographies and success books!" They tell me "They know, but it's not their cup of tea" and they continue with their old habits still complaining and passing life by. To know and not to do is not to know .

Some of These people will spend £40 on a pair of jeans but they wont buy 1 book a month at a cost of £10. They can`t afford it.They will continue to moan about their lives, and I will continue to give them the same advice until they are ready to change. Is your future worth the investment of £10 a month?

I will buy at 2-3 books a month written by successful authors to learn how to be financially successful , a good father, good husband or businessman because the investment is worth it. I write my own E-books from the lessons I have learned and continue to learn but I will always read. Because they are habits that improve my life and help me to grow.

So if you are struggling financially and having a pitty party about how bad your life is, Buy 1 less pair of jeans and buy books and read about success! Invest in yourselves!! It's not about the cost. It's a very small price.

Career Success and Problem Solving

In my work as an executive coach I have found that the single biggest mistake that people make is assuming that competence and performance are their ticket to success; when in fact they are merely the price of admission. Most people are good performers. It's a huge mistake to think that good performance is the only element of a successful career.

It takes a combination of self confidence, positive personal impact, outstanding performance, communication skills and interpersonal competence to succeed in your career and life. People who are successful in their lives and careers have mastered all of these five elements, and excel in one or two of them.

Outstanding performance is very important to career and life success. It's at the heart of the five success elements. No one can be successful without being a highly competent, outstanding performer. The incompetents and poor performers get identified and asked to leave or are placed in marginal positions pretty quickly. However, don't forget the other four. You also have to be self confident, make a positive personal impact, have highly developed communication skills and act in an interpersonally competent manner if you are going to succeed. These four elements are necessary complements to outstanding performance.

This article is about outstanding performance, as it is the cornerstone of career and life success.

I read an interesting article in the on line version of Colorado Biz Magazine recently. It was called No Sugar Coating -- They're Obstacles, and was written by Laurence Valant. Mr. Valant was writing to business owners and the general thrust of the article focused on how to deal with a big internal organizational obstacle - problem performers.

It began, "It's still quite common in corporate America today to hear this line of so-called wisdom among the management ranks: 'We don't have problems, we have opportunities.' Or, even better, this one: We don't have obstacles, we have challenges.'

"However, there's a valid argument to be made for simply confronting reality for what it is, without a sugar coating, and stating flatly: 'We are honestly going to identify and confront our obstacles in order to overcome them.' Say it aloud. Don't you feel better already? Early recognition of reality is a wonderful thing."

I got to thinking about what Mr. Valant said, and how it applies to individuals and outstanding performance. I suggest that you do what Mr. Valant suggests and say out loud, "I am honestly going to identify and confront the obstacles I face in becoming an outstanding performer so that I can overcome them."

Outstanding performers have three things in common. They are lifelong learners. They set and achieve high goals. They are well organized. If you are having difficulty in becoming an outstanding performer, you are likely to be facing obstacles in one, two or three of these areas.

Let's look at them in some detail. The world moves fast. The half life of knowledge is rapidly decreasing. One obstacle to becoming an outstanding performer might be your lack of current knowledge - about your company, your industry, your competitors, and business in general. If you face this obstacle, set aside some time every day, it doesn't have to be more than 3o minutes or an hour, to learn. Read the newspaper and trade magazines, listen to podcasts, read blogs. Do whatever it takes to stay current.

I am always surprised by the number of people I meet who have no written goals. Outstanding performers write their goals and then do whatever it takes to achieve those goals. They keep their goals close to them. They review them daily. And, most important, they take at least one positive step toward achieving each of their goals every day.

Personal organization is one of my biggest obstacles to success. When it comes to simple things like housekeeping, I have Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tendencies. I am fastidious about my living area. I am compulsive about keeping it clean, neat and organized. On the other hand, my work space is always a mess. I can usually find what I want, but I have to sift through the chaos in my office.

It has always been this way. I just seem to feel comfortable working in a space filled with opened books, stacks of papers and a whole lot of periodicals. I know this isn't the most efficient way for me to work. It is a true obstacle to my performance.

There, I've said it. I've done what Mr. Valant suggests. I've said out loud (you'll have to take my word for this), and in public in this article, that my lack of personal organization is an obstacle to my performance. Now, I can get on with addressing this obstacle. I'll let you know how it goes.

The common sense point here is simple. You have to identify the problems and obstacles to becoming an outstanding performer and career and life success that you face before you can take action and deal with them. Don't call your problems "opportunities" or your obstacles "challenges". Call them what they are, and then get on with fixing your problems and overcoming your obstacles.